The Case for No White Papers: 2019 Predictions

The Case for No White Papers: 2019 Predictions

December 13, 2018 -- ADVFN Crypto NewsWire -- Was this year really a success for the blockchain industry? Some, like James Greaves who published a piece for Coindesk today on the subject, have stated quite the opposite.

Whatever your industry affiliations, several reasonable factors lead to them having a strong case for doing so. With Greaves’ article, we can see what these might be, as well as his ideas on how to make 2019 a better year for crypto and the blockchain alike.

Central to his argument is the suggestion that we should not rely on white papers anymore, especially in the context of choosing which projects to invest in. Instead, Greaves appears to counsel that we turn our attention to whether these companies can produce real alpha versions of their products, before they attempt to raise capital. While he is not the first one to make this suggestion, his voice might be one of the loudest, given that his article was given a top spot on Coindesk’s front page today.

Furthermore, beyond suggesting that we do away with white papers, he makes several other recommendations that anyone would do well to listen to, given that he is the founder of a blockchain project.

These include: foundational blockchain projects that create base layers for new technologies should take precedence over those that look too far ahead, blockchain advisors should become non-existent, and companies that deliver Minimum Viable Products should acquire those that cannot seem to do so.

To all of this, he also adds that we should do away with most blockchain conferences. If you have attended some of these events, this idea might not be shocking to you at all. Somehow, conferences seem to have lost their focus on community-driven development and turned towards rampant speculative opportunities instead, arguably to draw in a different audience.

In the end, Greaves’ article is sound in articulating its’ ideas on what is going wrong. What’s missing is how to begin fixing these issues. As we take our first steps into 2019, one idea might be to reflect on who we are catering our blockchain projects and even our blockchain news to.

Are we, as an industry, truly seeking widespread adoption or have we fallen prey to the promise of a quick profit? Are focusing on building or just holding our assets for the moon?